What Relic Holdings does

Relic Holdings (株式会社Relicホールディングス) is a Tokyo-based private holding company founded in September 2021 that operates a multi-subsidiary platform for new business development and innovation support in Japan. The group operates through 10+ wholly-owned subsidiaries spanning innovation management SaaS (Throttle, used by 1,500+ companies and positioned as Japan's No.1 innovation management platform), SaaS crowdfunding (ENjiNE/CROWDFUNDING NETWORK, Japan's No.1 SaaS crowdfunding platform by adoption), scale-up consulting (Scalehack series, 4,000+ companies supported), business regeneration and M&A advisory (Rebootus/Reboo+), space business (ALTILAN), food tech (MEAL FORWARD), Web3 (3rd Economy), and various creative/engineering ventures (knoctave, RUFU, Pro3Lab). Core operating subsidiary 株式会社Relic provides co-creation engineering and total-solution services including Digital Innovation Studio (supporting 1,000+ enterprises) and Growth Studio.

The business model combines three revenue streams: (1) recurring SaaS subscriptions across Throttle, ENjiNE, Battery, Growth Studio and other platforms; (2) professional services and consulting for new business strategy, co-creation engineering, and digital innovation; and (3) open-innovation revenue from joint venture formation and venture/startup investment across the group's portfolio. Pricing is not publicly disclosed (contact-for-quote model consistent with enterprise sales). Go-to-market is primarily direct enterprise sales for consulting and solution services, supplemented by self-serve/SaaS subscriptions and a channel-style distribution through Scalehack. The group serves two primary customer segments — Japanese large enterprises seeking innovation and digital transformation support, and startups/venture companies seeking co-creation, scale-up support, and investment — plus corporate crowdfunding clients via ENjiNE.

The company's stated differentiator is its integrated three-pronged structure (SaaS + services + open innovation), which it describes as "unique and unrivaled in the world," enabling end-to-end support from ideation through commercialization. Distribution advantages include direct reach to 1,500+ Throttle enterprises and 4,000+ Scalehack-supported companies. Recent strategic activity in 2024–2025 includes the launch of ALTILAN (space tech, May 2024), the joint development of Ideation Marker with Sales Marker (June 2025), and the appointment of former Mizuho Bank Deputy President Yasuhara Takahiko as advisor (July 2025). Registered capital is 50 million JPY, headcount is 101–250, and the company is privately held with no disclosed external institutional investors.

Name

Relic Holdings

Legal name

株式会社Relicホールディングス

Website

https://relic-holdings.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Relic Holdings is a Tokyo-based private holding company operating a multi-subsidiary platform for new business development and innovation support in Japan, serving Japanese large enterprises and startups through proprietary SaaS (Throttle, ENjiNE), co-creation consulting, and open-innovation JV and venture investment across 10+ subsidiaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415), Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

Legacy Application Modernization (Re-platform/Re-host/Re-factor) (BPAEAFAB)

Keywords

• Innovation management software
• Crowdfunding platform services
• Business consulting services
• New business development
• Open innovation platforms

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscriptions (Throttle, ENjiNE, Battery, Growth Studio): Subscription-based SaaS platforms providing recurring revenue from innovation management, crowdfunding, and growth support tools. The company operates multiple SaaS products serving both enterprise and startup customers.
2. Professional Services & Consulting: Total solutions spanning new business development and innovation creation, including strategy consulting, digital innovation studio, and project management services.
3. Open Innovation / JV and Venture Investment: Joint venture formation and startup investment creating co-developed businesses and portfolio companies across various sectors including Web3, IoT, D2C, HR Tech, and food tech.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Relic Holdings operates an integrated new business development and innovation platform combining proprietary SaaS tools (Throttle for innovation management, CROWDFUNDING NETWORK/ENjiNE for crowdfunding, Battery for media) with professional consulting and engineering services (Digital Innovation Studio, Growth Studio, DUALii, Scalehack) and open-innovation mechanisms including JV formation and venture investment. The offering serves Japanese enterprises and startups across the full lifecycle from idea generation and PoC validation through commercialization and scale-up.

Product overview

Relic Holdings operates as a platform-plus-services architecture for new business development and innovation support in Japan. The core offerings include three interconnected pillars: (1) proprietary SaaS platforms (Throttle for innovation management, CROWDFUNDING NETWORK/ENjiNE for crowdfunding, Battery for media); (2) total solutions (Digital Innovation Studio for engineering, Growth Studio for marketing/sales DX, DUALii for incubation partnership); and (3) open innovation through joint business development/JV formation and venture/startup investment. Supporting subsidiaries include Scalehack (scale-up support across Sales/Marketing/Operation/Engineering), Reboo+ (business regeneration and M&A), MEAL FORWARD (food tech), 3rd Economy (Web3/blockchain), ALTILAN (space development), knoctave (creative arts), RUFU (SaaS propagation), and Pro3Lab (results-reward engineering).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Throttle: 国内シェアNo.1のイノベーションマネジメント・プラットフォーム。1,500社以上に導入され、新規事業創出プログラムやアクセラレーションプログラムを支援するSaaS型プラットフォーム。
• CROWDFUNDING NETWORK Powered by ENjiNE
• Battery
• Digital Innovation Studio
• Growth Studio
• DUALii

Products and services

• Throttle SaaS innovation management platform serving 1,500+ companies with end-to-end capabilities including idea generation, project management, evaluation, mentoring, talent discovery, and team building for new business development from PoC through commercialization. Targets large Japanese enterprises and startups seeking structured innovation program management.
• CROWDFUNDING NETWORK Powered by ENjiNE SaaS-type crowdfunding platform holding Japan's No.1 domestic share. Enables rapid site setup with low initial costs, supports multiple crowdfunding formats (purchase, donation, Furusato Nozei, real estate investment, lending, cross-border), and includes network functionality for cross-promotion between multiple sites and media for customer acquisition.
• Battery Innovation-focused media platform covering corporate innovators, entrepreneurs, startups, and marketing topics. Provides CMS and platform services for building and operating owned media to major media companies, supporting SEO and media growth for clients.
• Digital Innovation Studio (DIS) Co-creation engineering service supporting idea verification through commercialization using Relic's accumulated technology and design expertise. Has supported more than 1,000 large enterprises and ventures, addressing digital domain challenges in new business development with technology, creative, and business development professionals.
• Growth Studio Platform accelerating marketing and sales organization DX for new businesses from 1-to-10 and 10-to-100 growth phases. Provides knowledge, technology, databases, human resources, and growth design to achieve KGI/KPI through integrated strategy planning and execution.
• DUALii Incubation partner platform using a unique business development scheme. During the high-uncertainty verification phase, Relic acts as the operating entity for rapid development and verification, then transitions the business to large-enterprise-led organization for formal commercialization.
• Scalehack (Sales / Marketing / Operation / Engineering) Integrated scale-up support platform series (Sales, Marketing, Operation, Engineering) that has supported more than 4,000 companies with rapid business expansion and sustainable growth using proven methodology and the largest domestic scale hack talent database.
• Reboo+ (Renovation Studio and Relocation Studio) Renovation studio business providing comprehensive support for business regeneration and re-growth (evaluating and assessing current status and potential of businesses, products, and services) combined with relocation studio services for business M&A, sales, and reallocation that democratize re-challenge by restarting any business with added value.
• MEAL FORWARD Food tech and food innovation business pursuing food distribution and purchasing innovation. Operates an e-commerce site and mobile apps for daily food self-purchasing needs, partners with local industries and producers for food branding and regional creation initiatives.
• 3rd Economy Tokenized claim marketplace that expands monetary claim trading market (previously limited to corporate-to-corporate transactions) to individuals. Uses blockchain technology for enjoyable, risk-managed asset management and formation.
• ALTILAN Spacecraft development company targeting the moon and beyond Mars, with related business development using new business development experience and systems engineering expertise. Also supports non-space industry entry into the space business through industry-government-academia collaboration.
• knoctave Artist collective merging music, fashion, art, and technology. Explores new art forms beyond listening to music, including music visualization, interactive exhibitions, and fashion items.
• RUFU SaaS for SaaS business that visualizes and propagates customer enthusiasm for products. Develops businesses that promote product propagation by leveraging user-generated enthusiasm.
• Pro3Lab Complete results-reward type engineering service where engineers invest development man-hours upfront and recover costs from future sales or revenue. Enables software co-development with ambitious partners with reduced initial development costs.
• Ideation Marker (アイディエーションマーカー)

Quantifiable outcome

• Throttle adopted by 1,500+ companies, positioning it as Japan's No.1 innovation management platform
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered advisory and core.

• 安原 貴彦 (Takahiko Yasuhara)advisoryOthers · 2 July 2025Former Deputy President of Mizuho Bank (元みずほ銀行副頭取) Yasuhara Takahiko joined Relic as an advisor. He brings extensive expertise in corporate finance, M&A advisory, and large enterprise relationship management to support Relic's business co-creation initiatives.
• Sales MarkercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 June 2025Relic and Sales Marker entered into a joint development partnership to offer 'Ideation Marker,' a service that supports the creation of high-probability new business ideas and their progression into core business operations. The partnership leverages Relic's new business development expertise with Sales Marker's sales/marketing intelligence capabilities to provide end-to-end support from ideation to commercialization.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Broad incumbents

• Boston Consulting Group Digital Ventures: Global consulting firm's venture builder arm creating new digital businesses in partnership with corporates. Comparable to Relic's DUALii incubation and JV formation model, though operating at global scale rather than Japan-focused.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Global innovation platform and accelerator connecting corporations with startups. Significantly larger scale than Relic but operates an overlapping corporate-startup matching and accelerator model that competes for the same Japanese enterprise innovation budgets.
• Accenture Japan: Global consulting giant with a dedicated innovation practice in Japan serving large enterprise digital transformation. Competes with Relic for enterprise consulting and digital innovation budgets, though at much larger scale and broader scope.
• Deloitte Tohmatsu (Deloitte Japan): Major consulting firm in Japan with a dedicated digital and innovation practice serving large Japanese enterprises. Comparable to Relic's Digital Innovation Studio and consulting services at significantly larger scale and broader service portfolio.
• Recruit Holdings: Large Japanese conglomerate operating HR, marketing, and new business creation platforms with internal venture studios. Comparable to Relic's holding-company structure and its focus on innovation-as-a-service, though at vastly greater scale and through different business units.

Direct peers

• Mistletoe: Japan-based startup studio, venture investor, and innovation community founded by Taizo Son. Comparable to Relic in combining startup investment, incubation, and innovation community building, though focused more on ecosystem/investment than SaaS.
• CAMPFIRE: Japan's largest crowdfunding platform operator. Directly comparable to Relic's ENjiNE CROWDFUNDING NETWORK SaaS in terms of product category and Japanese enterprise crowdfunding market, though CAMPFIRE is a single platform while ENjiNE is a SaaS infrastructure provider.
• Sun Asterisk (Sun*): Japanese digital creative studio and venture builder with proprietary SaaS offerings combined with co-creation engineering services. Mirrors Relic's Digital Innovation Studio + SaaS approach and serves similar enterprise and startup customers.
• Scrum Ventures: Japan-based early-stage venture capital and innovation platform connecting startups with Japanese corporates. Highly comparable to Relic given shared focus on open innovation, corporate-startup matching, and Japanese enterprise market focus.

Emerging players

• KPMG Ignite Japan: Innovation and emerging technology advisory arm of KPMG Japan, focused on helping corporates build new businesses through co-creation. Directly comparable to Relic's enterprise innovation consulting model but smaller dedicated team.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Relic_tech

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments2 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Relic Holdings